City of Akron Launches Small Business Enterprise Program to Expand Access to City Contracts

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and the City of Akron announced the launch of a new Small Business Enterprise (SBE) program designed to increase opportunities for small businesses to participate in City contracts and procurement. The new approach will reshape how the City identifies, structures, advertises, and monitors contracting opportunities, with the goal of making it easier for qualified small businesses to compete for public dollars. Click here to learn more.

The City is launching the effort with pilot projects representing a minimum estimated $1.19 million in SBE spending, along with a new SBE Spotlight program that will connect small businesses directly with City departments. The SBE initiative is part of Mayor Malik's broader Working Together strategy, which aims to expand economic opportunity, support local businesses, and ensure more Akron residents and businesses can benefit from public investment.

“Small businesses are essential to Akron’s economy, but too often the process of doing business with government can be difficult to navigate or opportunities can feel out of reach,” said Mayor Malik. “We spend significant public dollars every year on construction, services, supplies, and other work. We want more of those dollars creating opportunities for small businesses here in our community. That means changing not just who we invite to the table, but how we design contracts, communicate opportunities, and hold ourselves accountable for participation.”

Qualified SBEs must meet applicable federal industry size standards. Rather than establishing contracting goals based on the race or gender of business owners, Akron's new approach will establish enforceable participation requirements for qualified small businesses.

The SBE program replaces the City’s previous Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) programs, which had limited enforcement under those established goals. Under the new program, when the City establishes an SBE participation requirement for a contract, bidders will be required to demonstrate how they will meet that requirement as part of their bid. A bid that does not meet an established SBE requirement may be deemed non-responsive and removed from consideration. The City will also track both its own spending with certified SBEs and SBE spending by prime contractors, allowing Akron to better measure participation and hold both the City and its contractors accountable for meeting established requirements.

“This is about moving from good intentions to measurable participation,” said Director of Opportunity and Engagement Esther Thomas. “We want small businesses to know what opportunities are coming, understand how to compete for them, and have a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they can do. At the same time, we are changing our own internal processes so that City departments are thinking about small business participation from the beginning of a project, not after it has already been designed.”

The City has identified several initial projects to pilot the new approach:

• The 2026 Hydrant Painting Program, valued at approximately $222,000, has already been awarded to Armstrong Painting for the painting of 2,215 fire hydrants in Akron's Central district.

• Akron has awarded two smaller citywide sidewalk repair projects, each valued at approximately $50,000. One was awarded to VCS Construction Services and the other went to Bishop Brothers Supply.

• A contract for lighting upgrades at the Cascade Parking Deck for approximately $72,000 was awarded to Berwin Electric;

• And an estimated $375,000 in SBE opportunities associated with mowing and clearing public and private parcels will go to bid.

The City will also require a minimum of 10% certified SBE participation on two upcoming Lead Service Line Replacement contracts with a combined estimated value of $8 million. That requirement represents approximately $800,000 in anticipated SBE participation between the two projects. Certified SBEs may also compete as prime contractors for the full projects, potentially increasing the amount awarded to small businesses beyond the required minimum.

Altogether, the initial pilot projects represent a minimum estimated $1.19 million in SBE spending, with the potential for substantially more.

SBE Spotlight

As part of the initiative, Akron will also launch SBE Spotlight, a recurring engagement program designed to introduce local, small businesses directly to City employees responsible for engineering, construction, purchasing, and other contracting decisions.

Working with partners including the Greater Akron Chamber, Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County, Akron Urban League Minority Business Assistance Center, and Plexus, the City will identify businesses to participate in Spotlight sessions. The sessions are intended to give businesses an opportunity to explain what they do and what they are capable of while giving City departments a better understanding of the small businesses available in the local market.

“We want small businesses to have a real opportunity to compete for City work, and that requires us to be intentional about how we structure and monitor our contracts,” said Brandon Laster, Compliance Officer. “This new program gives us stronger tools to track participation, follow through on our requirements, and make sure the opportunities we create translate into actual work for small businesses.”

The City expects the SBE program to continue evolving as it evaluates the initial projects, tracks participation, receives feedback from businesses, and identifies additional opportunities to incorporate SBE participation into future contracts.

Businesses interested in becoming registered vendors or learning more about upcoming opportunities can visit the City's Local and Small Business Enterprise Participation webpage.